Back in 2001, I was working for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and taking photos of what is now the Clinton River Trail in Pontiac. The rail line passed behind a cul-de-sac of new houses just west of downtown Pontiac.
One of the homeowners approached me and asked what I was doing. He didn’t seem too enthused about me walking behind these homes and taking photos.
I began by explaining our plan to convert this abandoned rail line into a walking and biking trail. He didn’t seem too sold on the idea, so I noted that trails increase the property values of surrounding homes. That worked.
He offered me a glass of cold lemonade and said if there was anything I needed, just ask.
A new trail study out of Ohio only confirms what other studies have found and what I told that concerned homeowner:
Across the United States, many conversions of abandoned railroad rights-of-ways into trails have faced opposition from surrounding property owners. Much of the opposition derives from the fear that developing trails would cause a decrease in property values because of loss of privacy, increase in noise, traffic, litter and crime.
The objective of this study is to assess the impact of the Little Miami Scenic Trail on property values. To accomplish this task, the hedonic pricing technique was employed to measure the impact of the trail on single-family residential property values in southwest Ohio. Several of the variables used in this model were measured using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.
The analysis suggests that, each foot increase in distance to the trail decreases the sale price of a sample property by $7.05. In other words, being closer to the Little Miami Scenic Trail adds value to the single family residential properties.
